American East Preview

The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.   Blue Ribbon Forecast No. East Division Team  '01-02 Conf. Rec. (Overall) 1. Boston University  13-3 (22-9)  2. Vermont  13-3 (21-8)  3. Hartford  10-6 (14-18)   4. Maine  7-9 (12-18)  5. New Hampshire  8-8 (11-17)  6. Binghamton  6-10 (9-19)  7. Northeastern  5-11 (7-21)  8. Stony Brook  9-7 (20-12)  9. Albany  5-11 (6-22)  All-Conference Team Did You Know? G: T.J. Sorrentine JR, Vermont G: Chaz Carr SO, Boston University F: Billy Collins SR, Boston University F: Taylor Coppenrath SO, Vermont C: Justin Rowe SR, Maine Player of the Year T.J. Sorrentine JR, Vermont Newcomer of the Year Jerrell Parker JR, Hartford Top Backcourts 1. Boston University 2. Vermont 3. Hartford Top Frontcourts 1. Vermont 2. Boston University 3. Hartford 2002-03 Conference Tournament March 9-10, Walter Brown Arena, Boston, MA March 15, Championship game at homecourt of higher remaining seed 2001-02 Champions Vermont, Boston University (Regular season) Boston University (Conference tournament) 2001-02 NCAA Tournament Postseason Record 0-1 (.000) NCAA Boston University All nine America East coaches who finished last season will start this one. Albany's Will Brown, who took over as interim head coach of the Great Danes when Scott Beeten was reassigned last December, was hired as head coach in March. Choice Hotels International signed a three-year deal with the America East to be title sponsor of the conference's men's basketball tournament. Vermont's T.J. Sorrentine put himself in some elite company last season. Sorrentine joined Craig "Speedy" Claxton of Hofstra and former Northeastern and Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis as the only sophomores to be chosen player of the year. Sorrentine and Lewis are the only players to be selected rookie of the year one season and player of the year the next and Lewis is the only player to win the award three times. Sorrentine could join him by winning it the next two seasons. Boston University will open its season at Stanford in the Preseason NIT. The Terriers return 91.1 percent of their points (1,956 of 2,147) and 97 percent of their three-point goals (197 or a team-record 203) from last season. BU coach Dennis Wolff is the father of Nicole Wolff, the 2002 McDonald's High School Player of the Year and a freshman on the University of Connecticut women's basketball team. Binghamton, which is still in its transition to Division I, is not eligible to compete in the conference tournament until 2004. The Bearcats are scheduled to open their new $33.1 million field house during the 2003-04 season. Vermont, which had never finished higher than third in 46 seasons of conference play, tied for first last season. The Catamounts also posted a 3.01 grade-point average, the highest among the nine schools in the conference.

 

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